I giggled to myself as I created the title to this blog post! If you are new to my blog, I'll have you know that this is the THIRD time I've written an "ELA in
Reading comprehension skills like making inferences, finding the main idea, and recognizing cause and effect are critical curriculum elements in any ELA classroom. As our students build their reading skills, they need to develop their understanding of 12 different reading comprehension skills. One of my favorite ways to teach students about the reading skills is with doodle notes. Don't worry...I've put together a 20+ page set of doodle notes that you can download for FREE! (Sign up at the bottom of this post!) Have you tried doodle notes in your classroom? If so, you know that... ⭐ Doodle notes are a great way to introduce students to important information. These doodle notes include definitions for 12 different reading skills. In addition, there are tips provided for each reading skill to help students use each in their reading. The definitions are simple enough for students to understand, but specific enough to help students recognize the differences in each. ⭐ Doodle notes tap into multiple learning styles. Doodle notes are obviously great for visual learners. They also create a connection between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. This leads to an increase in learning, focus, and retention. The doodles on the note pages also help a variety of learners connect images with information. The free set of reading doodle notes also includes 4 versions for easy differentiation. There are doodle pages for lower grades, upper grades, as well as notes that are filled-in or in a guided notes format. ⭐ Doodle notes expose students to skills they can use in the classroom. Doodle notes are a fun and engaging spin on traditional notes. The free set of doodle notes focus on reading comprehension skills. Therefore, they work perfectly as a review of skills before students show off their learning while reading passages. Of course, I think reading passages should be engaging, too. So, some of my favorites to combine with the doodle notes are these... --- Reading Passages and Text-Based Evidence - R.E.A.D. Strategy --- Social Emotional Learning Passages - Read, Doodle and Do --- Nonfiction Reading Passages - Doodle and Do ⭐ Doodle notes are extremely motivating and therefore work as awesome introductions to units. The free set of reading comprehension skills doodle notes are such an awesome way to introduce students to more in-depth reading units. You could easily have students complete the packet of doodle notes before diving deeper into each reading skill. Or, you could have students complete one section of the doodle notes as they learn about different skills. The good news is that I've already created 12 reading mini-units for each reading skill. Find them here. ⭐ Doodle notes help students review and reinforce information naturally. When students complete doodle notes, first, they do the work of adding the notes to their pages. However, their learning doesn't end there. Students are super motivated to doodle, color, and embellish their note pages. As they get creative, they naturally read over and review their learning. It's the perfect way to mix creativity and learning! If you'd like to add this FREE set of reading comprehension doodle notes to your classroom, just add your email and name below. Then, check you inbox for your exclusive freebie!
This 7th grade reading list will help you choose books for your child. Also, there's a FREE lesson or novel study for each book on the list!
A diverse selection of books make up this 7th grade summer reading list. Good variety of books with something for everyone!
Enhance reading comprehension with before reading activities for older students. Discover effective reading activities for high school.
Close reading, broken down with a FREE planning page that works for any text
Copy or download a list of 7th grade vocabulary words in popular formats. abdicate, abrasive, abruptly, acknowledge, acquire, addict, adequate, admonish
Implementing guided math in your classroom is easy! Rea our blog series on the components of Guided Math and watch your students succeed!
Don't forget to review the five parts of the plot. All stories, no matter how basic, follow this outline.
Reading Response activities will likely form a major part of your reading programme, whether you are running guided reading groups, a daily 5 system,
Use this guide to help students enjoy Instagram in the Classroom and boost your coolness factor with Interactive notebooks. You will learn the basics of Instagram and how to use it with Interactive Notebooks. In this guide you will learn How to get started with using Instagram in the classroom with Interactive Notebooks. How …
Looking for inspiration for teaching middle school reading skills? Read on to see how I teach the essential elements in a 6th-grade classroom.
Close reading ideas to help you turn any book into a close reading lesson. #closereading #literature
This test focuses on city vs countryside life. It includes several tasks: reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and writing. Hope you find it useful. Key is included. - ESL worksheets
After part one of guided reading and small groups in middle school ELA, this post outlines what the other students are doing during this time
Find tips and strategies to help upper elementary teachers teach Reading Workshop Mini-Lessons in focused way with a limited amount of time.
Cooperative learning can be a powerful learning strategy, but only if it works well. These small changes can make group work more effective in your classroom.
The good, the bad, and the ugly of what daily silent reading really looks like in my middle school ELA classroom.
My middle school students are to the point where they are energized and enthusiastic. Their favorite project so far has been our reader's notebooks.
Need to know how to help students write summaries? These lesson ideas and summarizing ideas and tips for the upper elementary classroom will help you teach summarizing and help your students write summaries as they read.
The ultimate goal of any reading teacher is for students to have strong reading comprehension! Although reading comprehension encompasses lots of different reading skills, basically we want students to understand what they’ve read. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? In a typical class though, you’ll have a variety of types of readers. There’ll usually be a handful […]
As I sit writing this post, thinking of information I have obtained the last two days during Professional Development workshops, I want to offer words of encouragement as we begin the next semester: We CAN teach our students how to be intelligent... we just have to discover what TYPE of intelligences they have. If you have found that your students express their intelligences through writing, I hope you take a look at the above table. This is an easy-to-read formula of the popular Jane Schaffer Writing Method. I use her method with all of my students, which include English students from 6th grade to 12th grade. Using this worksheet as a guide will help your students organize their writing so that their language is clear and concise; and hopefully, their writing intelligences with shine throughout the year. Yours Truly, Katie
Learn six ways to help reluctant readers gain confidence and improve their reading skills in upper elementary and middle school classrooms.
Never planned to homeschool, now wouldn't trade it for the world
This 7th grade reading list will help you choose books for your child. Also, there's a FREE lesson or novel study for each book on the list!
A diverse selection of books make up this 7th grade summer reading list. Good variety of books with something for everyone!
Why should you teach close reading in your classroom? Learn great tips for teaching close reading and how to make it relevant.
Dig deep into EVERY SINGLE 6th grade reading and writing standard EVERY SINGLE week with the flexibility to choose the novels.
I just created a resource for middle schoolers and middle school teachers to implement First Chapter Friday in their ELA classrooms.
Test prep doesn't have to be painful! Check out how to use my Daily Reading passages for test prep in your middle school ELA classroom.
Never planned to homeschool, now wouldn't trade it for the world
Daily grammar practice is a tool that helps students practice and master grammar standards. Learn more about grammar spiral review in the classroom.
Read about eleven different ways to meaningfully incorporate art in ELA class. Keep the focus on students' learning, not their artistic abilities.
Help your students increase their reading comprehension by using summary sentences. This reading strategy helps students break down reading passages so that they can fully understand a text. Grab some Free Reading Passages with Text Dependent Questions while you read the post.
After part one of guided reading and small groups in middle school ELA, this post outlines what the other students are doing during this time
6th-8th Grade Back To School Reading List with 25 middle grade diverse titles to excite and encourage tweens about reading.
Find great middle school book recommendations and YA book recommendations for your middle school classroom. Check out this article!
After part one of guided reading and small groups in middle school ELA, this post outlines what the other students are doing during this time
A diverse selection of books make up this 7th grade summer reading list. Good variety of books with something for everyone!
